A mirage is a phenomenon caused as a result of the bending of light rays, which should go straight ahead by nature, due to a difference in the refractive index attributable to a difference in the temperature of the air, and more particularly a phenomenon in which distant objects such as buildings or trees are seen stretched, shrunken, inverted, or displaced. A mirage seen in winter in Uozu, Japan, a mirage seen in spring, a mirage over deserts, and an inferior mirage seen on a hot road are known as representative mirage-like phenomena seen in the nature.
Although various theories have been introduced as the cause of these phenomena, the matter remains unelucidated as yet. Although attempts have been made to reproduce these phenomena, the reproduction of a clear mirage-like image at any time has yet been unsuccessful. Further, since it has been believed that a depth of at least 100 m is necessary for realizing a mirage by making use of a gas, it has been thought to be utterly impossible to artificially reproduce a clear mirage-like image on a small scale.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of reproducing a mirage-like phenomenon which enables a desired mirage-like phenomenon to be clearly reproduced at any time.